Hegseth Awards Medal to the Tomb Guard Who Reprimanded Him at Arlington
One day after a sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier called his group to silence, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hosted the Old Guard at the Pentagon and pinned a Joint Service Commendation Medal on Specialist Thomas Iglesias.
WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal to the Army sentinel who reprimanded him and his aides at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier a day earlier, CNN and USA TODAY reported. Hegseth welcomed members of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, known as The Old Guard, to the Pentagon, where, a Pentagon official confirmed, he "proudly awarded Specialist Iglesias the Joint Service Commendation Medal for the execution of his duties at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on November 11, 2026."
The incident came Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery, after a Veterans Day ceremony. Hegseth, his wife, his chief of staff Ricky Buria, deputy chief of staff Patrick Weaver and senior adviser Tami Radabaugh were taking photos in front of the tomb when some in the group were heard laughing and chatting, CNN reported. The soldier patrolling in front of the tomb, Spc. Thomas Iglesias, stopped walking, faced the group and called out, "All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times." The episode was captured by television cameras and spread widely online. Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said afterward that the soldier "correctly and respectfully reminded everyone to maintain decorum." The reports read this cycle do not establish which member of the group laughed, and this story does not claim otherwise.
Hegseth posted a photograph of himself pinning the medal on Iglesias with the caption, in his own words, "We love soldiers. We love standards. Well done, Specialist," the Wall Street Journal reported. The Joint Service Commendation Medal is a senior decoration; Military.com noted the Defense Department's awards manual ties it to joint-duty service, and the award to a junior enlisted sentinel drew national attention - the story stood at No. 4 on the U.S. trending list Thursday afternoon, at 20,000 or more searches.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is the burial site of unidentified American service members killed in war, and it has been guarded around the clock since 1948 by sentinels of The Old Guard, the Army's 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment. Sentinels correct visitors as a routine part of that duty; what made Thursday's medal unusual was who had been corrected - the Secretary of Defense himself, one day before he pinned it on.
